. . . as C-STEmp graduates 162 trainees
In response to the need for qualified artisans to provide standard labor in the construction industry, the Construction Skills Training and Empowerment Program (C-STEmp) has reinforced its collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB).
The synergy also has as collaborators, the National Directorate for Employment (NDE), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) and the Directorate for International Development (DFID).
Chairman, FCT Chapter of NIOB, Bldr James Ogbagha who spoke at a ceremony to mark the successful completion of the first stage of 162 trainees in Bwari, described C-STEmp as doing a meticulous job stating that the program is beginning to deliver the much needed qualified artisans in construction and other sectors of the Nigerian economy.
The NIOB chairman called for the replication of the C-STEmp training and empowerment saying: ‘If only this laudable achievement is replicated across states of the country, the problem of substandard service delivery would become a thing of the past.’ He called on state governors to take a clue from the development. ‘State governor must take advantage of the opportunities offered by C-STEmp to better the lot of their populace by improving the skills of their artisans,’ he said.
‘Trainees have completed the workshop and classroom training sessions and are progressing to the next level which is practical field training in the various jobs location to acquire practical knowledge.’
Discussing the expect impact of the training on job creation, the coordinator of C-STEmp, Bldr Anthony Okwa said ‘the 162 graduate trainees have been trained as employers of labour across the sectors adding that their training is not just to acquire skills, but also to be entrepreneurs and employers of labour.
‘So we expect that their activities will stimulate more activities in the sector thereby having a multiplier effect of jobs creation.’
‘By so doing, we are saving the country huge sum in foreign exchange, because people have been looking for artisans from outside this country, but with these trainees, there will be no more need for anybody to go beyond the shores of Nigeria in search for artisans.’
